The present invention relates generally to a device for securing a dead bolt latch. More particularly, the present invention relates to a removable device which may be hung upon and secured to a dead bolt latch and prevents retraction of the dead bolt prior to removal of the device.
Conventional attempts to provide a simple and inexpensive means for providing additional security for doors have been inadequate. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,176, issued on Feb. 19, 1980, there is disclosed a thin flat plate which is used to restrain retraction of the dead bolt by vertically applying the plate directly to the dead bolt latch between the door and the door frame. This device is cumbersome to engage and remove. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,334, issued Apr. 4, 1978 there is disclosed a rigid plate having longitudinally spaced and transverse openings to receive adjacent door knobs, such as those found on adjacent opening doors commonly referred to as French Doors. This device exhibits utility only on adjacent opening doors and would have no utility on the more commonly employed single-entry doorways. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,251, issued Aug. 12, 1986, discloses a U-shaped lock which fits around the shank of a door knob assembly having two legs which are received by an extended strike plate in a locked condition. The lock is retained around the shank by a keeper engaged on at least one of the legs. This device requires the addition of a strike plate to receive the U-shaped locking member.
There are, therefore, no known devices which are adapted to directly engage, in locking fashion, the dead bolt latch knob in order to prevent turning of the knob and retraction of the dead bolt.